


Meat Me For Dinner

by Okobogee



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Angst, Bad Ending, Cannibalism, Food, Food is People, Fucked Up, Heavy Angst, Horror, M/M, No Fluff, One Shot, Smut, Suspense, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 06:59:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12030612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okobogee/pseuds/Okobogee
Summary: Jihoon moves into a new apartment building and befriends his cooking enthused neighbour





	Meat Me For Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> Hello carats, I'm here with another horror story!  
> After [ The Doll Maker](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11887815) I was sure I'd never write again, but here I am.
> 
> This is an unhappy story, so for those looking for fluff, you won't find it here. I don't recommend this for those who get spooked or grossed out easily. If you have a troubled relationship with food, I suggest you take caution while reading this since there's a lot of food talk.
> 
> (Also the angst tag is there bcs I know some of you think anything that isn't fluff is angst)
> 
> If you want to chat, I can be found on [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/okobogee_666)

** [February 20th, 2024] **

"You got it from here?" Soonyoung asks, as he sets the final box on the floor.

"Yeah, thanks for the help Soonie", Jihoon says, leaning against the door jamb.

"Alright, well I'm off then. Take care, hyung."

Out of the window of his new kitchen, Jihoon watches Soonyoung's beat up Hyundai Excel sputter to life and drive away. He turns around and sweeps his eyes across the empty space of what's to become his new living room.  
Jihoon had been sharing a living space with Soonyoung ever since they got assigned to the same dorm room in their first year of college. It feels weird being alone, but Jihoon's turning 28 soon and he finally has a job that pays well enough for him to live on his own so there really is no reason for him to have a roommate any longer. Besides, this way he won't have to listen to his loud best friend having loud sex with his equally loud boyfriend.

The apartment itself is a definite step-up from the shitty two-bedroom he shared with Soonyoung after they graduated college. It's new and modern, the plumbing works and Jihoon has an extra room which he's already planning on turning into a mini recording studio of sorts.

He's in the middle of unpacking the boxes with kitchen essentials in them when his doorbell rings. He gets up from the floor, wipes his hands on his jeans and shuffles to the door. He has to get on his tip toes to see through the peep hole. There's a man there with impossibly big doe eyes behind his door with what seems to be a casserole in his hands.

Jihoon opens the door just as the man is about to ring the doorbell again.

"Uh... hi?" Jihoon offers. _Real eloquent, he thinks to himself._

"Hi! I'm Choi Seungcheol, I live in 3B, right next to you! I thought I'd welcome you to the building."  
Seungcheol is **_gorgeous_**. His black hair is falling over his brow in gentle curls and his white t-shirt is stretched over his chest in a manner that suggest he's packing some serious muscle beneath it. He smiles down at Jihoon, all pearly white teeth and dimples and at the back of his mind Jihoon thinks about punching something.

"Lee Jihoon, nice to meet you." Jihoon offers, clipped.

"I made you some casserole!" Seungcheol beams, before adding "Oh uh, I hope you're not a vegetarian, there's definitely some meat in there!"

"Uh, thanks? And no, I'm not a vegetarian."

As soon as the words escape Jihoon's lips, Seungcheol is thrusting the casserole into his hands.

"Great! I hope you like it! And welcome to the building. Again."

"Thank you. Again", Jihoon offers back, quirking his lips in an almost smile.

"Well, I'll let you get back to unpacking now! Don't be a stranger!"

Baffled, Jihoon watches Seungcheol disappear into his apartment. And if he sneaks a glance at Seungcheol's ass, nobody has to know.  
The casserole is still warm so Jihoon decides to tuck in instead of just putting it in the fridge. And just like Seungcheol said, there's definitely meat in it. But above all it's absolutely delicious. Jihoon might even venture out to say it's the best damn thing he's eaten.

Food for Jihoon is usually more of an afterthought and he mainly eats cause it's a necessity. It's not a medical condition or anything, he just thinks other things are more interesting, doesn't want to waste time on eating when he could be composing.

When Jihoon finally climbs into bed at 2 a.m, he's so tired expecting to fall asleep immediately, but for some reason he can't. _Maybe it's because this doesn't feel like home yet_ , he thinks.  
Suddenly he hears raised voices from next door.

_Hm, seems like Seungcheol's hiding something behind that friendly façade. _

The arguing goes on for a while, then there's a thump and suddenly it's silent.

Jihoon makes a mental note to avoid Seungcheol to the best of his abilities before he drifts off to a dreamless sleep.

A few days later Jihoon scrolls past a missing persons ad on Facebook.

* * *

 

** [April 7th, 2024] **

It's been a few months now, Jihoon has settled into his new apartment and revels in the fact that he can do basically anything he wants cause he's living alone now. Mostly this just means he hangs out naked, wanks on the living room couch sometimes and sings in the shower.

It's Sunday, and Jihoon is enjoying being able to just lay in bed. He's cocooned himself into the blankets and is idly scrolling through his phone when the doorbell rings. His friends know better than to show up unannounced especially on a Sunday, so Jihoon just scowls in the direction of his bedroom door and remains cocooned. The bell rings again.

Jihoon groans when he hears a muffled "It's Choi Seungcheol from 3B! The casserole guy, remember?".

Begrudgingly, he gets outta bed. Still wrapped in his blanket, he pulls on the most menacing frown he can muster, and pads to the door.

"What do you want?" he scowls at his smiling neighbour.

"I don't mean to impose but during these past few months, I've noticed that you order a lot of takeout an-"

"How would you even notice something like that?! Are you -- are you like one of those neighbours who stalks everyone else in the building cause I thought that kind of behaviour is only reserved to old spinsters who own too many cats"

"No no no, uh -- It's the uh, the deliverymen, they usually ring my doorbell first and ask for a Lee Jihoon"

"Oh. Uh, sorry about that." Jihoon offers back sheepishly.

"Oh don't worry about it, dumpling, it's not your fault! That wasn't what I was here about though! So, I notice you eat a lot of takeout and that's not good for you so I made you some moussaka!" Seungcheol excitedly lifts up a baking pan covered with aluminium foil.

"Oh, uh, you didn't have to." Jihoon is feeling more than a little awkward now.

"You look like you need both of your hands to hold onto that blanket so.... may I?" Seungcheol asks, indicating he'd like to step foot into Jihoon's apartment. Jihoon steps aside, letting Seungcheol march in.

He sets the pan on the kitchen island as Jihoon stares at the planes of his back, trying to make heads or tails of the situation.  
_He must work out a lot_ , Jihoon thinks absentmindedly as he shamelessly runs his eyes across Seungcheol's body.

"Well, that's that! Just bring the pan on over once you're finished!" Seungcheol claps his hands together and marches out of Jihoon's apartment. Jihoon stares at the moussaka and tries to figure out what would possess anyone to act like Seungcheol.

This time, Jihoon shoves the pan into the fridge and only remembers it a week later, when it's already growing mold. He chucks the contents of the pan into the bin, washes it and takes it back to Seungcheol.

This starts a peculiar routine where every few weeks Seungcheol will bring Jihoon some of his home cooking and then leave. Jihoon doesn't know what to think of it, but at least the food is good.

This time it's a roast and Jihoon isn't sure what animal it is, but he figures it's something exotic like rabbit. The meat is light in colour, somewhere between pork and chicken, but the taste is different. It melts in his mouth nonetheless and really, who is Jihoon to say no to delicious free food.

There's another missing persons ad on Facebook, this time Jihoon doesn't scroll past and he learns it's someone from his area.

_Huh, I guess even the richer areas have their fair share of action._

When Jihoon goes to return the plate back to Seungcheol, the man does something unexpected. _**Again.**_

"Jihoon, would you like to come over for dinner sometime?" he asks and this time his usual smile is a bit more subdued and he seems to be in a staring match against the floor. _Is he nervous?_

"A-huh?"

"Dinner. You know, starters, main and dessert?"

"Why?"

"Well, I like cooking for others. For you. And you're the only person around my age in this building and I think it'd be nice to get to know you a bit better."

"Sure? I- I guess that's fine?" Jihoon says, but then he remembers the fight he heard the night he moved in.

"But won't your uh roommate mind?"  
"What roommate?"

"Oh well the night I moved in, I just heard some fighting from your apartment and I figured it must've been you and your roommate or something."

Seungcheol's face falls a little and he glances to the direction of his door.

"Huh, I didn't realize the walls were so thin. Sorry about that, it was uh, my ex-boyfriend... Listen, if you don't want to come over for dinner, I'll understand but I promise you my invite is completely innocent."

"Ah, I'm sorry you guys broke up."

"Don't be. It happens sometimes, not all relationships last." Seungcheol says, smiling again.

"Okay well, yes, I'd like to come over for dinner."

"Great! How's next Wednesday sound? 8 o'clock?"

"That sounds good, yeah. I'll see you then."

When Jihoon gets home, he tries calling Soonyoung but he doesn't answer so he sents a text.

 

**Jihoon:** SOOBYOUG HELP I HAVE AN EMEGRENCY

He paces around with his phone in hand, waiting for Soonyoung to call back.  
His phone finally rings after 10 agonizing minutes, and in his haste to answer it, Jihoon almost drops it.

"Are you okay?! Did something happen?!" Soonyoung asks frantically.

"It's my hot neighbour!"

"What?"

"It's my hot neighbour, the one that keeps bringing me food, he asked me over for dinner!"

"Wait, you nearly scared me to death for _this?"_

"I already promised I'd go, what the fuck do I do?!"

"What do you mean _'what do I do?'_ , you go over and you eat dinner." Soonyoung laughs.

"But I don't know if it's y'know dinner or _**dinner**_! Do I dress fancy? Do I bring condoms? I don't know what to do!"

Soonyoung's laugh is so loud that Jihoon has hold his phone away from his ear for a while.

"Dress nice but not too nice, wear like, those really tight jeans you have and your only sweater that is not like, 2 sizes too big for you. Oh and bring wine!"

"But what kind of wine, I can't just get a random bottle of wine, what if I get a bottle of red wine but he's serving fish?!"

"It doesn't matter! It's a nice gesture, he can drink the wine later if it doesn't go with the food!"

"Okay okay, tight jeans, wine. Got it. Thanks Soonyoung."

"Next time you're having an emergency of this kind, please be specific so I don't have a heart attack."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Bye."

"Remember to text me after! I want all the sordid details!"

** [September 15th, 2024] **

Jihoon knocks on Seungcheol's door at 7.59 with a bottle of Merlot under his arm.

"Hey, Jihoonie, right on time!" Seungcheol exclaims happily as he opens the door. Jihoon quirks an eyebrow at the diminutive but says nothing.

"I uh, I brought wine? I don't know if it'll go with the food but if it doesn't you can just drink it later I guess", Jihoon explains as he hands the bottle awkwardly to Seungcheol.

"No, this is perfect! Thank you! You didn't have to bring anything though, I feel like you're already doing me a favour by dining with me".

Jihoon idly wonders if there's ever a time when Seungcheol isn't smiling.

When he steps into the apartment, he's met with the mouth-watering scent of food. Seungcheol's apartment is laid out exactly like Jihoon's -- as he explained a while back -- but where Jihoon's decor is sleek and modern, all chrome and dark greys, Seungcheol's is warm reds and dark wood. It's nice, inviting.

Seungcheol ushers Jihoon towards the dining area. and even pulls out his chair for him. There's a single red candle at the center of the table. Seungcheol retreats towards the kitchen, and returns with a wine opener and the starters. He uncorks the wine and pours them both a glass.

"So for starters we have liver paté, and I know a lot of people don't like the idea of liver but don't knock it 'til you've tried it, ok?" Seungcheol says, and Jihoon eyes the little soufflé cup suspiciously.

"I gotta admit, I'm not really familiar with foreign cuisine apart from McDonald's and pizza" he confides in Seungcheol.

"Am I taking your French cuisine virginity?!" Seungcheol asks, with a beautiful gleam in his eye.

"I guess so", Jihoon laughs easily.

Seungcheol is watching Jihoon with rapt attention, as he dips his spoon into the paté and lifts it into his mouth. It's amazing, as Seungcheol's cooking usually is, and Jihoon can't help but moan around the spoonful.

"Oh my god that's so good. _So_ good."

Seungcheol smiles with the intensity of at least five supernovas, before he tucks into his food as well.

They start with regular small talk, but as the evening progresses, they go into more personal territory and for once, the usually distant Jihoon can't seem to mind. Seungcheol's company is pleasant and surprisingly, lacks the awkward undertone that colours most of Jihoon's social interactions.

Each new dish Seungcheol brings out is more delectable than the previous and Jihoon's pretty sure he finally understands what people mean by the word foodgasm. He's so focused on the food that he doesn't even realize the heavy gaze with which Seungcheol monitors his eating.

They keep talking after dessert and Jihoon only realizes how long he's spent in Seungcheol's company, when he glances at the candle at the center of the table which has now been reduced to a small stump.

"Ahh, it's getting late, I should probably head on home. Work in the morning." Jihoon says. He thinks he can see Seungcheol deflate a little. Ever the gentleman, Seungcheol escorts Jihoon to the door, and when he smiles softly down at him, Jihoon feels his stomach making a little flip.

"Thanks for the dinner" he offers.  
"I should thank you. It's been a while since I've had people over for dinner, good company's hard to find."

"Yeah"

"I uh, I'd love to have you for dinner again some time."

"I'd like that. Next week?"

"Yeah, next week is good. Same time?"

"I'll see you then."

Jihoon walks the five steps it takes to get to his door, smiling. When he gets to bed, he's still smiling. He hasn't been this excited about another person in years.  
  


* * *

 

Their dinners become routine, and as Jihoon gets to know Seungcheol better, he starts harboring _feelings_.  
At first, he chalks it up to the combination of Seungcheol's good looks and heavenly cooking, but after two months, he finally admits to himself that it's much more. He isn't sure about Seungcheol though. He seems like he's friendly and open with everyone so Jihoon doesn't want to read too much into it when Seungcheol ruffles his hair and calls him pudding or a litany of other food-related pet names.

As they get closer, their dinner dates stretch longer and longer into the wee hours of the night and they move them from Wednesdays to Fridays. At some point these affairs start including movies. And if Jihoon blushes when Seungcheol's arm comes to rest behind him on the backrest of the couch, the darkness of the room hides it.

Time goes by and Seungcheol's apartment starts feeling like a second home to Jihoon. He's even gotten used to the faint smell of bleach that seems to always linger in Seungcheol's bathroom.

Gradually, Seungcheol starts touching Jihoon more. Sometimes he holds his hand gently on Jihoon's lower back, almost at the swell of his ass, and Jihoon ends movie nights by biting his pillow and thrusting into his own fist while thinking about Seungcheol.

One night after dinner, Seungcheol insists on showing Inception to Jihoon, saying it's a crime he hasn't seen what may be the greatest movie of the decade and Jihoon falls asleep on the couch. When he wakes up he feels Seungcheol's arm around him. His hand is rubbing circles between Jihoon's shoulder blades and Jihoon's stomach does the flippy thing again, but this time instead of one flip, it's at least 30 flips in rapid succession.  
Jihoon groans a little and lifts his head off of Seungcheol's shoulder.

"Sorry I fell asleep." Seungcheol's hand is still rubbing circles.

"Don't worry about it, pumpkin." Seungcheol's murmurs and his voice is lower than normal and it goes straight to Jihoon's dick.

"How long was I out?"

"Not long, the movie's still going. We don't have to finish it if you're tired, though." Seungcheol smiles that gentle smile of his.

"No, it's okay, I'm awake." Jihoon shakes his head, and as they turn their attention back to the movie, Jihoon experimentally scoots a little closer to Seungcheol who doesn't seem to mind.

Jihoon spends the night agonizing over their interactions, and for the next few days, he can still feel the phantom touch of Seungcheol's hand between his shoulder blades.

A few days later Jihoon hears groaning and thumping from the apartment next door. His heart sinks. He's only felt this foolish once before and it was in second grade, when his supposed best friend Jinho had told the whole class about how Jihoon had a nightmare during a sleepover and pissed the bed. And call it silly, but Jihoon's been very wary of people since then.  
_And for a good reason_ , he thinks. _I'm such a fuckin idiot, of course someone as ripped and handsome and **perfect** as Seungcheol would want someone like **me**. _

_Or maybe, he did want you but you were being too chickenshit about it for so long that he decided to find someone easier._

So, Jihoon flushes Seungcheol out of his life. Or at least tries to. Seungcheol can be very persistent. After the first time Jihoon doesn't show up to their dinner, Seungcheol texts Jihoon.

 

**Seungcheol:** Hey, is everything okay? I thought we were supposed to have dinner tonight but you didn't show up.  
  
**Jihoon:** Sorry, something came up at work.  
  
**Seungcheol:** No biggie. Are we still up for next week?  
  
**Jihoon:** I don't know. We have this huge project going on and I'm not sure if I'll have the time for it.

And time goes by like that, Jihoon avoiding Seungcheol. But try as he might, he can't get the man out of his head, and if he sometimes whispers his name when he's coming down from an orgasm, no-one has to know.  
  


* * *

 

It's another lazy Sunday, Jihoon is once again cocooned in his blankets, scrolling idly through Facebook on his phone.

_Huh, another missing persons ad...That must be what, the fifth one after I moved into this apartment? Isn't that a bit too much, even if this is a metropolitan area...._

Much like that Sunday all those months back, his doorbell rings. He frowns.

"Jihoon open up, I know you're in there!" comes Seungcheol's voice through the door. "Please, I just wanna talk?"

Jihoon sighs in frustration, but goes to the door anyway. He's too mad to care about the fact that he's wearing a ratty old t-shirt and boxers. He opens the door and it's the first time Jihoon's ever see Seungcheol not smiling widely. He looks... bad. There are dark bags under his eyes and his hair is a bit too long, curling at his nape. There's at least a two-day stubble covering his chin and he's wearing tattered grey joggers.

"What do you want, Seungcheol?"

"Have I done something to piss you off? At first I really did think you were just busy with work but then you stopped answering to my texts altogether and I _**know**_ you saw them, there are read receipts! I know you're avoiding me but I don't know _**why**_ and it's driving me up the wall! I thought we were getting along great. Was I too touchy-feely? Am I too boring? If you don't wanna be friends anymore then I'll respect that but I'd like to at least know what I've done wrong."

"You're right, I have been avoiding you but it's really more a me thi-"

"Oh my god you're not gonna give me an overplayed break-up cliché as a fuckin reason for this, Jihoon!" Seungcheol says, raising his voice slightly. Jihoon is taken aback, he's never seen Seungcheol angry before.

"Will you let me finish? I have been avoiding you but it's uh... I uh, fuck this is embarrassing. I um, I thought we maybe like, had something? Like, I thought we were moving into more than friends territory but I wasn't sure cause I didn't know if you were just like that with everybody and I really liked being friends with you so I just, went along with it but then I uh. I heard you. Through the wall. And it sounded like you were having a _jolly old time_ with someone and I just, I felt so fucking _stupid_ and _jealous_ even though I really had no right to be and I couldn't handle it so I started avoiding you."

"What exactly did you hear?"

"Well uh like, thumps and grunting and stuff. My roommate and his boyfriend used to fuck like rabbits even though I was home so I got pretty good at discerning different kinds of sex noises."

"Oh, _Jihoon_. Jellybean, I wasn't having sex."

"What the fuck were you doing then!?"  
"I was working out! I do martial arts, I was working on uhh... controlled falls."

"Oh. Okay... well, I feel supremely idiotic right now so uh, bye." Jihoon goes to shut the door, but Seungcheol manages to get his foot in before it closes and from there he wrestles it open. He grabs Jihoon by the back of his neck and kisses him.  
It's really only a brief brush of lips but it sets Jihoon on fire. Seungcheol's looking down at Jihoon, eyes impossibly wide and so, so beautiful and Jihoon pulls him down by the neck and smashes their lips together. He nips at Seungcheol's bottom lip and Seungcheol gives in, lets Jihoon lick into his mouth.  
"Mmh -- pumpkin -- the-- door" Seungcheol manages to get out between kisses. Jihoon shoves Seungcheol against the door and it closes with a click. He slips one of his legs between Seungcheol's and revels at the needy groan that elicits him.  
Seungcheol growls into his mouth and lifts him up. Jihoon wraps his legs around Seungcheol's waist and positively slobbers up and down the column of his neck while he carries them into Jihoon's bedroom. They tumble onto the bed together, and Jihoon laughs airily.

He tugs at the hem of Seungcheol's shirt and almost swallows his tongue when he sees what's underneath. Seungcheol's got a broad,muscled chest and while he doesn't exactly have washboard abs, there's still some definition there. Jihoon rakes his eyes down along the smattering of hair that disappears under the waistband of Seungcheol's joggers and even through the loose fabric, Jihoon can tell that Seungcheol's **hung**.

"Like what you see?" Seungcheol asks and flexes, eyes twinkling.

"Oh my god you're insufferable. I take all of that back, put your shirt back on I don't wanna see it." Jihoon says, with obvious mirth.

Seungcheol kisses him before he rips Jihoon's shirt off. Before Jihoon can feel self-conscious about his softer, less defined stomach, Seungcheol starts kissing down his torso. He gets to the waistband of Jihoon's boxers and yanks them off.

"Fuck, Hoonie, you look good enough to _eat_ ", Seungcheol says, out of breath. Jihoon flushes and squirms a little at the reverent tone with which it was spoken. Seungcheol attaches his mouth back on Jihoon and he kisses down his thigh.

"Cheol, please" Jihoon keens, tugging on his hair lightly. Seungcheol kisses and nibbles on the insides of Jihoon's thighs and his stubble burns deliciously on the soft skin there. And right when Jihoon's certain he's gonna actually come from Seungcheol sucking bruises onto his thighs, he gets flipped over onto his stomach and his cheeks are being spread apart and then Seungcheol's pressing a sloppy, wet kiss onto his rim. Seungcheol starts off softly, easing Jihoon into it, licking around the rim. His stubble chafes the sensitive skin and it's just on the edge of unpleasant but Jihoon wouldn't have it any other way. Seungcheol eats ass like it's going out of style, and Jihoon's alternating between pressing back against his mouth and rutting against the mattress to get some friction on his weeping cock.  
Seungcheol eases a finger in next to his tongue, and Jihoon can't take it anymore.

"Cheol _please_ , need you in me" he babbles out in between moans and Seungcheol obliges.

Jihoon turns onto his back and watches Seungcheol scrabble to get out of his joggers. Jihoon didn't think he could get more turned on but finding out Seungcheol had come to his door wearing nothing but his ugly joggers, his cock spurts out another bead of precome.  
"Do you have lube?" Seungcheol asks, and Jihoon reaches into the top drawer of his night stand and chucks the bottle into Seungcheol's direction.

When Seungcheol starts coating his fingers instead of his dick, Jihoon actually whines.

"Cheol, need you in me _now_."

Seungcheol crawls up the bed, settling in between Jihoon's legs.

"I know, baby I know." he says as he kisses Jihoon's forehead.

"I just don't wanna hurt you."

Seungcheol pushes in two fingers and starts fucking them into Jihoon slowly. Jihoon tries to grab at his cock, but Seungcheol slaps his hand away and takes him into his mouth.

"Oh ffffuck that feels so good, Cheol."

When Seungcheol adds a third finger, Jihoon comes in his mouth. He looks down just in time to see Seungcheol swallow and he groans. Seungcheol doesn't stop fucking his fingers into Jihoon's tight ass and Jihoon's soon hard again.

Seungcheol finally rolls on a condom and pushes inside carefully. The tight ring of muscle gives way easily and both of them sigh when he bottoms out. Jihoon's pleased at the slight burn of penetration, at feeling impossibly full and stretched out around Seungcheol's thick cock.

"Shit you feel so good. Been dreaming about fucking your pert little ass ever since I saw you."

Seungcheol thrusts in and out of Jihoon slowly, carefully rolling his hips and Jihoon groans.

"'m not gonna break, Seungcheol. Need you. Need you to fuck me so hard I can't walk tomorrow. Wanna feel you for _days_."

"You want it hard?"

"You think I'd just say that for fun?"

Seungcheol lifts one of Jihoon's legs on his shoulder and nips at the skin at the bend of Jihoon's knee. He sets a punishing pace and the room fills with Seungcheol's grunts and Jihoon's mewling. With the position they're in, Seungcheol is hitting Jihoon's prostate with every thrust. Jihoon knows he won't last long.

Seungcheol bites down on Jihoon's lip and draws blood, Jihoon comes onto himself in long white spurts. His asshole clenches around Seungcheol's dick and soon enough Seungcheol is coming as well.

"Fuck. Seungcheol........ that was... _wow_."

"Yeah"

Seungcheol gets up and for a second Jihoon almost panics, but when Seungcheol emerges from his bathroom with a wet washcloth, he breates a sigh of relief.

"You look so fucked out, I didn't think your legs would carry you into the shower" Seungcheol explains as he wipes the cum off of Jihoon's stomach. He takes the cloth back into the bathroom to rinse it out and then he returns into bed, pulling Jihoon flush against his chest and kissing the nape of his neck.

"I hope this isn't just a one-time thing, jellybean" Seungcheol mutters

"No, I don't want it to be a one-time thing either." Jihoon pauses. "I mean, I'm not very good at feelings but I'd uh, I think I'd like to try feelings with you."

"I'd like to try feelings with you too, Jihoon." Seungcheol chuckles.

The next morning Jihoon wakes up alone and wonders if Seungcheol was just blowing steam up his ass, until he smells coffee and hears Seungcheol rummaging around in the kitchen. He pulls on a t-shirt he finds on the floor, and shuffles into the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Seungcheol smiles and before Jihoon even has to ask, he has a steaming cup of coffee in his hands.  
"Oh my god, you're perfect."

"Aw thanks, sugar!"

"I didn't mean to say that out loud." Jihoon blushes while he perches on one of the bar stools next to the kitchen island. Seungcheol makes pancakes and they fuck again on Jihoon's couch.  
  


* * *

  
  


Seungcheol, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a very affectionate boyfriend. Their relationship blooms and flourishes and Jihoon is the happiest he's been in ages.

He told Soonyoung immediately, mainly cause he knew Soonyoung would be able to guess as soon as he saw him. Seungcheol of course, told Jihoon to invite Soonyoung over for dinner. Jihoon knew that Soonyoung seeing them together would only amount to endless teasing, but he also knew that as soon as Soonyoung tasted Seungcheol's cooking, he'd be sold. And he was.

Soonyoung even managed to rope Seungcheol into throwing a birthday party for Jihoon, despite Jihoon insisting against it.

They've been dating for a few months now and Jihoon knows he's in love. He hasn't been able to say it yet, but from the way Seungcheol looks at him, it's obvious that he knows. And it's obvious that he loves Jihoon back.

Generally, everything is sickeningly perfect, and the little pessimist in Jihoon is waiting for the other shoe to drop any day now.

The shoe doesn't drop however, and after 7 months of dating, Jihoon stops waiting for it to do so.

One night Jihoon wakes up hungry and decides to go into the kitchen to make a sandwich . He's usually never in Seungcheol's kitchen, mostly cause Seungcheol is very particular about it and Jihoon would rather eat his boyfriend's cooking than be forced to order takeout while Seungcheol sulks about his space being disturbed.

As he expected, the kitchen is spotless. There's a ridiculous variety of different types of kitchen knifes and he idly wonders why anyone would need so many knives. A blade's a blade, right?  
When Jihoon opens the fridge, everything is very neatly organized and there's a multitude of tupperware containers but none of them have labels on them and so, Jihoon has to peek into them to find the ingredients he needs for his midnight snack. On his third container, he makes a grisly discovery. The tub is full of dark, thick liquid. Jihoon takes a whiff and discerns it to be blood.

_Why the fuck does Seungcheol have blood in his fridge_?! Jihoon is suddenly not at all hungry, and he puts everything back into the fridge. He sleeps the on the couch for the rest of the night.

In the morning, Seungcheol wakes him up.

"Pancake, why are you sleeping on the couch?"

"Oh um, I woke up in the middle of the night and I came to the living room cause I didn't want to disturb you. By the way why do you have blood in the fridge?"

"You went through my fridge?" Seungcheol asks, looking a bit alarmed. "Why?!"

"I was gonna make a sandwich but then I found the blood and it kinda grossed me out so I ended up not making a sandwich after all."

"It's pork blood. I found my grandma's old recipes and wanted to make soondaeguk but it won't taste as good if I don't make the soondae myself."

" _Oh_. Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry."

Seungcheol's soondaeguk is to _die_ for.

 

* * *

 

 

** [October 5th, 2025] **

It's Saturday afternoon and Jihoon is in bed, wrapped up in a tangle of beedsheets with Seungcheol snoring lightly next to him. It's the week of their one-year-anniversary, which they celebrated with a dinner akin to the ones they had when they were just getting to know each other. Seungcheol went all out with it, and even organized a little heart made out of raspberries on top of the soufflé he served for desert.

They had breakfast in bed and they fucked, slow and languid, Seungcheol worshipping every inch of Jihoon's body. After some cuddling and pillowtalk, Seungcheol promptly fell asleep which left Jihoon alone with his phone.

Jihoon gets bored after a while, and decides to see if Seungcheol has any of his home made ice cream left . He pads into the kitchen and opens the freezer. And he sees what looks like a hand, wrapped in clear plastic. At first Jihoon thinks it must be some exotic ingredient that just looks like a hand, but then he notices the labels on the bags.

It's all in neat, uppercase letters:

**MINCED MEAT (F, 23) 18/1/2024  
** SWEETBREAD (M, 40) – 20/2/2024  
HAND (M, 40) - 20/2/2024  
LIVER (F, 40) - 6/5/2024  
PECTORAL (F, 40) – 6/5/2024  
RUMP STEAK (M, 27) - 9/9/2024 

Jihoon throws up in the kitchen sink. Not wasting time by dressing up, he grabs his keys and his phone and tiptoes out of Seungcheol's apartment as fast as he can. He makes sure to shut the door quietly.  
His hands are shaking so badly that he almost drops his keys two times before he manages to get them into the lock. Once inside, he pulls on the security chain and calls 112.

"You've reached the police, how may I help you?"

"Hello? I know this might sound a little crazy but I think I found human body parts in my friend's freezer" Jihoon whispers down the line.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that sir?"

"I think I found human body parts in my friend's freezer. I saw the packaging and there was a human hand and some other parts and the dates on the packages match the dates of the people who've gone missing over the past year, maybe even further back."

"Does this person know that you know?"

"No, he's still asleep, I left his apartment as soon as I found out and I called you as soon as I got home. I uh, I live next door to him so it's probably been 5 minutes since I found all that stuff."

"Alright, sir, are you safe? If there's a security chain on your door, please make sure to fasten it. I've already got a patrol unit on hold so if you'll let us know the name and address of this friend of yours, I'll send them over. "

Jihoon whispers Seungcheol's full name and his address into the phone and when the police worker hangs up, he goes into his bedroom and gets dressed.

Jihoon sees the patrol car pull up from the window of his bedroom. He hears the elevator start up, and a few minutes later he hears the police ringing Seungcheol's doorbell.

"Sir, it's the police, please open up" one of the officers says. They wait a few minutes and ring the doorbell again.  
"Sir, we have a warrant to search the premises, please open the door."

Jihoon hears the police officers mutter something to each other, and then he hears the door open. He hears the police shouting from within Seungcheol's apartment, but there are no sounds of struggle. A few minutes go by until someone rings Jihoon's doorbell. He opens up and one of the police officers are there.

"Hello, are you the person who called in a possible case of human remains in apartment 3B?"

"Yes, that's me. "

The police officer asks a series of questions ranging from how Jihoon knew Seungcheol to how Jihoon looked into the freezer and so on so forth. The officer calmly lets Jihoon know that when they checked the apartment, Seungcheol had vanished. They ask Jihoon if there's anywhere Seungcheol could go, and then they ask if there's anywhere Jihoon could go while they put an APB on Seungcheol. He explains that while police procedure indicates that they have to lab test the meat found in the freezer, they found certain parts that were very clearly human. Jihoon is pale. He packs an overnight bag while the officer watches over him.  
One of the officers stays behind to wait for the forensics team while the other drives Jihoon up to the station. From there, Jihoon calls Soonyoung who rushes over as fast as his rusty Excel will take him.  
Jihoon stays over at his and Soonyoung's old place -- now Soonyoung and Seokmin's love nest -- for some weeks. The forensic lab confirms that all of the meat in Seungcheol's fridge and freezer is of human origin, and Jihoon's legs almost give out.

The police offer Jihoon protective custody, at least while Seungcheol is at large. Jihoon is escorted back to his old aparment, where he packs up his studio equipment and haphazardly throws his favourite clothes into a duffel bag.

Jihoon says his goodbyes to his best friend in a windowless room at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and from there he's escorted out in a series of armoured cars with black tinted windows.

His new residence is in Pohang, which reminds him of his home town, Busan. Jihoon dies his hair a bubblegum pink, stops wearing contact lenses and starts dressing in pastels. The police told him it's best to look as different from his old self as he can. He misses Soonyoung.  
  


* * *

  
  


** [February 20th, 2027] **

"You got it from here?"

"Mingyu I'm not _that_ drunk, I can walk." laughs the smaller of the two freely.

"Just making sure, Woojin."

"It's only a few metres and some stairs, I'll be fine"

"Alright, see you next week!"

"See you!"

Woojin sings under his breath as he turns the key in his lock, too drunk and happy to notice that the door opens without the usual click. He clambers inside, leaning on the door with his back to close it, and before he manages to get his shoes off there's a gruff voice speaking to him.

"It's been a long time since I've heard you sing, **jellybean**. I missed it."

The pet name makes Woojin sober up instantly.

" **Seungcheol.** "

Before he has time to react, there's a rag over his mouth and then things go dark.

He doesn't know how much time has passed when he wakes up, but there's a gross taste in his mouth and he has a crick in his neck. He opens his eyes and finds himself tied to a chair, in front of a dining table. There's a single red candle burning in the centre of it and the scent of meat permeates his nose. It makes him sick. He hasn't touched meat in roughly two years now, can't stand the smell or the memories. There's a plate set in front of him, and a glass of wine.  
He feels a hand touch his back, and he jumps, turning his head as far as it can go.  
Seungcheol is rubbing circles between his shoulder blades and he feels tears threatening to spill.

_Not gonna cry, not gonna cry, not gonna cry_

"Aw shh, shh" Seungcheol says, wiping the tears with one hand while he scoots his chair closer.  
"My little sugar plum, I know, I know...it's been _so_

"It took me a while, but I finally found you Jihoon. Or should I call you **Woojin** now, like everyone else does?" Jihoon stares at Seungcheol, trying to figure out what he wants.

"Did you know that today marks the three-year-anniversary of our first meeting?" Seungcheol says conversationally while cutting into the big, juicy steak on Jihoon's plate.

"Why did you start avoiding me again, pudding? Was I too touchy-feely? Too boring?" Seungcheol asks, eyes impossibly wide. Jihoon remembers how full of warmth they used to be, and feels dread at how devoid of warmth they are now.

_Should've let Mingyu escort me home._

"I like the hair, it's.... _cute_. It's the same colour as the raspberry sorbet I used to make you" Seungcheol offers, and smooths a hand down Jihoon's pink hair. Jihoon is whimpering now, tears freely streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm glad I found you, I had to eat last year's anniversary dinner all by my lonesome. And you know how much I enjoy dinner parties. It was a real drag." Seungcheol continues chattering on, his voice eerily light, not matching the stony anger etched onto his face.

"Don't feel like talking, do you, Hoonie? That's ok, the food's what's important anyway." Seungcheol has now cut the steak into bite-sized pieces. He stabs one of them with his fork and holds it out to Jihoon expectantly.

"I'm sorry but I can't untie your hands so you're just gonna have to let me feed you."

Jihoon turns his head away but Seungcheol grabs his jaw, and forces his mouth open. Once the piece of meat is in Jihoon's mouth, he holds his hand over it while Jihoon chews and then he pinches his nose.

"Be a good boy and swallow, pumpkin. You know, like you used to back in the day?"

Jihoon swallows and Seungcheol lets go, taking a piece of meat and popping it into his own mouth.

" **Didn't I use to tell you you were good enough to eat?** " he smiles, and with horror, Jihoon realizes he can't feel anything from the waist down.


End file.
